The present invention relates to a barker or a peeling apparatus suitable for peeling potatoes or the like, although not particularly limited thereto.
A peeling apparatus has been proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 205467/1986 in which a cutter blade or edge is laterally arranged on an inner surface of a rotating cylinder or tube.
Further, a peeling apparatus is proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 139673/1976 in which an elongated resilient or elastic element is fixedly mounted helically or spirally on an inner peripheral surface of a rotating tube, and a plurality of friction pawls made of a metallic material are fixedly mounted on the elastic element in spaced relation to each other. Furthermore, disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 205467/1986 is a peeling apparatus in which a cutter edge is straight along a central axis of a rotating tube. Accordingly, in the arrangement disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 205467/1986, contact areas between potatoes or the like and the cutter edge are small. It is difficult to uniformly peel the cuticles or epidermises of the potatoes or the like with the cutter edge. Because the amount peeled by the single cutter edge is small, more time is required for peeling the cuticles of the potatoes or the like. The cutter edge must be rotated together with the rotating tube. The potatoes or the like are largely fluctuated during rotation of the rotating tube. Thus, there is an increased chance that the potatoes or the like are damaged.
Disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 139673/1976 is an arrangement for peeling potatoes in which, contact areas between potatoes and friction pawls are small, thus making it difficult to uniformly peel cuticles of the potatoes by the friction pawls. Since an amount of peeling the cuticles of the potatoes due to a single friction pawl is small, time is required for peeling the cuticles of the potatoes is increased, and peeled surfaces of the potatoes are roughened. Since the friction pawl is rotated together with the rotating tube, the potatoes are largely fluctuated during rotation of the rotating tube. Accordingly, there is an increased chance that the potatoes are damaged.